Wide receiver Darius Slayton’s tenure with the New York Giants could reportedly be over after seven seasons.
The New York Post‘s Paul Schwartz reported Slayton “might not make the cut” when the Giants trim their roster down to the 53-man limit by Sunday’s 6 p.m. ET deadline.
“If the decision is made that at this point, he cannot contribute to the offense the way John Harbaugh and the new coaching staff envisioned, he will be among the cuts this weekend,” Schwartz reported.
Slayton’s contract currently carries a cap hit of $15.9 million for the 2026 season, per Over the Cap.
The Giants could clear out $3.2 million in cap space by releasing Slayton, Over the Cap reported.
Over the Cap projects that would leave the Giants holding around $12.7 million in dead money, a number which Schwartz noted could drop if Slayton signs elsewhere.
The Giants currently rank 28th in the NFL with around $10.4 million in projected Top 51 cap space, per Over the Cap.
The Athletic’s Dan Duggan noted the Giants can create more space by restructuring contracts belonging to players like safety Jevon Holland or cornerback Paulson Adebo.
Slayton was originally selected by the Giants in the fifth round of the 2019 draft.
He most recently agreed to a three-year, $36 million contract with the Giants last March.
With Malik Nabers sidelined for most of the 2025 season with a knee injury, Slayton ranked second on the team to Wan’Dale Robinson with 538 receiving yards on 37 catches in 14 games.
Slayton later revealed he had dealt with a sports hernia injury throughout the season. He underwent core muscle surgery earlier this offseason that sidelined him for OTAs before he returned for training camp.
The veteran wideout played 33 snaps during the Giants’ preseason finale Friday night against the New York Jets, but did not receive any targets in a game during which Harbaugh rested most of his starters.
Slayton also recorded limited catches from any of the Giants’ three quarterbacks in training camp, per Duggan.
Cutting Slayton could further thin a wide receiver depth chart that has already lost Calvin Austin III to a season-ending knee injury.
Another candidate to secure a spot in that room is Odell Beckham Jr., who saw more usage than Slayton in the preseason finale amid his bid to return to the NFL after sitting out last season. Beckham would carry a cap hit of just over $1 million if he makes it past Sunday’s roster cuts.
